


Subject 319

by LissaBear



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Non-bending AU, Vaguely future AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2015-09-11
Packaged: 2018-04-18 09:02:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4700105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LissaBear/pseuds/LissaBear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a global war rages, humanity seeks to enhance and augment itself in order to survive an apocalypse of their own making. Deep beneath the tractless wastes of the Si Wong desert, Future Industries is working tirelessly to find new and inventive ways of slaughtering untold millions. </p><p>Project Avatar, brainchild of Hiroshi Sato, pours a lifetime of work it into a single vessel in the hopes of creating a sentient superweapon capable of untold destruction. Subject 319 is the latest unwilling inductee into the program, but she is the first to show promising results after a string of botched attempts. Will she hold the key to ending this war? or will the power ultimately consumer her as it has all those before?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a non-bending AU, but a world where they use technology and science to both extend life and take it.
> 
> In this universe, Future industries is a military funded R&D superpower that works to create supersoldiers through cybernetic and biochemical enhancements.
> 
> the induced bending that they pioneered is similar to field of biotics from the Mass Effect universe.

The dark skinned woman exhaled slowly, preparing for the sense of emptiness that accompanied the activation of the control chip implanted at the base of her skull. Thankfully the techs left it off when she wasn't being experimented on, she'd overheard stories of previous subjects being under 24/7 and entirely losing themselves as the programming overwrote their basic humanity. 319 is the first test subject without access to R.A.A.V.A. (Reconnaissance And Action Verification Aide) , a sentient (but shackled) combat A.I. designed to help the subject operate the living weapon that they had become. In many previous instances the A.I. was too much strain for the subjects brains often causing them to form splinter multiple personalities, go into homicidal rages, or slip away into a hellish dreamscape (knicknamed "the fog of lost souls" by the technicians), never to wake.

Stripped of any past, her mind erased, the compact, muscular woman was the perfect platform on which to build the most ambitious project Future Industries has ever undertaken. In a world consumed by near constant conflict for more than a century, the latest cybernetic and neurochemical enhancements are being used to create super soldiers like the world has never seen before. And now Hiroshi Sato, the genius behind many of those enhancements, is taking that next leap forward, building the weapons platform from the ground up instead of just upgrading existing hardware. Using this blank canvas, the first step was muscular enhancements, injecting growth accelerant and low impact nanites that reinforced the bone structure, increased their density and the tensile strength of the muscle fibers. Next came the sensory enhancement, artificial lenses implanted in the eyes, giving the subject a real time heads up display, vision improvement of 20/8 or better, and stellar night vision. Miniaturized 3D audio pickups are implanted in and around the ear canal, giving the subject unparalleled hearing, these feed into a chip implanted on the brain, which acts as the the bridge between the artificial and organic systems. The brain is enhanced with increased neuron density and is used as a CPU for the entire system, utilizing the pre-existing pathways for storage. Finally, came the combat enhancements. Future Industries latest breakthrough, a power known as "bending", allows the wielder to control elements of the natural world. To unlock this power, the subject's spine is used as a grounding point for a coil of superconductive material the wraps up around it, which feeds out through nano filaments into nodes placed along all four limbs as well as the chip in the skull. With this system, the subject is able to use their body as a living energy conduit, channeling power from the world around them and from within themselves to strike down their enemies and crush all who stand before them.

Today was the same as the hundreds of days that had come before it, once she had healed from the surgeries, the subject was immediately put into intensive training; turning mind and body into a living weapon. And this weapon was turning out promising results far beyond it's creator's wildest dreams. A programmable, organic weapon that could integrate seamlessly into any human population and take out even the most well protected targets. The energy bending that she was capable of was explosively powerful, but perfectly accurate, able to lethally dispatch dozens, or carefully strike down a single target from across the room in a crowd. She was the first subject without a connection to R.A.A.V.A. and she was perfectly balancing the load all on her own, a one in a million shot that paid off spectacularly.

She was already being put through her paces when the big boss arrived, his distinct, slightly staccato heartbeat standing out against the crowd. She kept moving, but noted a distinctly new heartbeat that hovered near the boss, excited, but still cool and collected. As her nearest enemy was hurled backward a dozen meters into a wall, she spun towards the source of the heartbeat, catching sight of striking emerald eyes, freezing for split second as if entranced by them. They looked back at her with shock and (excitement???). The subject shook her head, pulling herself back to the moment, but the thought lingered. "No one's ever looked at me with anything other than veiled contempt or cold scientific curiosity, but there's something different about this one, there's kindness in those eyes..." 

"...Maybe we can use it to get out of the prison" an new voice interjected, causing her to freeze.

A presence flowed into her mind like viscous oil, oozing over everything, it seized control of the subject and instantly hurled a ball of energy into the barrier, shorting it out. Before anyone could react, the subject grabbed onto the woman she had sensed earlier. An energy shrouded fist held up as threat as she drags her human shield back towards the door, her eyes glowing as if suffused by fiery blue flames. The subject was just as helpless as the woman she was dragging towards the exit, a strange presence overpowering her and taking control of her body.

What happened next was a blur of motion and pain, mostly their's, but some of it was the Subject's. One lucky guard had almost pulled her shoulder out of her socket as she dove into the all-terrain jeep, managing to kick him senseless before forcing her captive to start driving them far and fast away from the chaos. After what felt like hours, the jeep finally skidded to a stop near a rock out cropping, steam spraying from the engine, too overheated to continue. The weary pair made for the rocks quickly, the captive leading the way, the subject covering her from behind. Thankfully there was a cool, dark cave sheltered within the rocks, allowing them to finally rest and take stock of the situation.

The woman was the first to speak, calmly and pointedly asking, "So...what now?", as if this was her daily routine and she was bored.

This just aggravated the Subject, the still confused woman hurling a fireball into the cave roof, showering her captive with dust and rock splinters, gaining the silence she needed.

"You don't get to take that tone with me, after you experimented on me, ' _wait, how did I know that? I thought I couldn't remember anything beyond the lab... _', after you used me against my will, turned me into this freak..."__

__She was cut off by a flash of pain as the woman fired a stunner she had concealed in her boot, knocking the subject onto her ass, hard. this was immediately followed by several more bolts from the tiny pistol, sending the subject hurtling towards a dreamless oblivion as she crumpled over, unconscious._ _


	2. The Cave: Pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trapped in a sandstorm, the subject confronts her hostage.

The Subject painfully swam back to conscious, fighting to shake off the dark tendrils that sought to ensnare her. She thrashed wildly, eyes blinded by the light in front of her, screaming angrily as she realized that she was bound hand and foot with copper wire which was connected to a battery. Once she had exhausted her rage, finally accepted she couldn't energy bend, she slumped down, crying from exhaustion and fear as the adrenaline ebbed. Suddenly the woman that she'd used as a human shield appeared in her vision, blotting out the blinding light. The Subject recoiled from her, trying to escape but her head collided with the cave wall and the blackness engulfed her again.

When she finally came to again, she instantly realized that she was positioned comfortably _' **as if anyone from that hellish place could be compassionate...** '_ 319 mused. The light was no longer in her eyes and the woman was crouched down in front of her, watching her with a mixture of curiosity and fear. Before the Subject could do anything, the woman spoke authoritatively, "One move towards me and you'll get a full dose of my stunner here, but..." she twirled the small pistol to demonstrate, ephasizing every word, "...if you cooperate, no harm will come to you, and you'll be allowed to keep the freedom I've given you." this time she indicated the fact that the Subject is no longer tightly hogtied, only with her wrist and ankles bound in the sitting position., a marked improvement over previous accommodations.

The Subject nodded mutely, refusing to meet the woman's eye. The woman noticeably relaxed, settling herself on the cave floor, eyeing her captive up and down.

"I have no idea what you are, but you're facinating and terrifying and I don't know if you're safe to be around. If you try anything again, I won't hesitate to drop you, but since we're trapped here together, I figure we might as well work together." the woman looked hopefully at the subject.

"Why the fuck would I ever help a member of Future Industries? Especially some " _secretary_ " who was in the wrong place at the wrong time?" she spat back, growling the words.

"Excuse me? For your information, I'm not just some ditzy piece of meat, I am Asami Sato, daughter of Hiroshi Sato, the heir to his entire industrial empire, and..." She was cut off by a roar from the bound woman.

"WHAT THE FUCK??? So you're his rich little princess and you think you can just act all innocent and get my simpathy??? Do you think I'm dense or are you just as souless as your monster of a father?"

At this, Asami slapped 319 across the face, _**HARD**_ , causing her head to recoil into the wall, momentarily stunning her.

"How dare you! You're fucking judging me simply because I happen to be related to him, just like everybody else..." she trailed off, her face a jumble of rage and pain.

As the subject's vision cleared, she sneared at the woman, "Of course I'm passing judgment on you, you and your scientists kidnapped me, erased my mind ' _wait, how did I know that...?_ ' and built me into this unholy fusion of woman and machine that sits before you."

Asami gasped, her face immediately dropping, tears welled in her eyes. "Oh my god, I had no idea...I only came of age today and my father was about to bring me into the fold and reveal the truth behind the work he does so that I might one day take his place. But then you broke out, and here we are, I swear I had no idea he was doing these horrible things to you."

The subject froze, trying to balance the raging desire to hate everything that she represents or realize that the vulnerable woman before her is actually innocent and in need of help ' _Maybe there actually is such a thing as a good Sato..._ ' she laughed to herself.

"Okay, so let's assume for a second that I believe you, what now? Where are we? What's our next move?"

"We're on the edge of the Si Wong Desert, hopefully somewhere near the capital, Ba Sing Se, currently trapped in a massive sandstorm, and the jeep is fried." she trailed off, slumping down, "I don't know what our next move is, but I don't want to die out here, I want to help you, and I want to show you that I am not my father."

"You have my trust for now, but understand that it's very conditional and letting me loose is a calculated gamble that you win as long as I'm happy" came the response, spoken with a deep conviction.

"I accept your terms, and offer the same back to you, I want us to work together to get out of here and get to the bottom of all of this, I need to have a long and possibly violent talk with my father..." a rueful laugh escaped her crimson lips, "I'm going to have to go against everything I've ever known, and I'm not even afraid, you really are something else!"

The Subject offered the ghost of a smile, "well with that settled, what are we going to do about my current situation?" nodding down at her wrists and ankles.

"Oh, I think I can let you free, I recognized that you were a fully functioning bender, which I only thought were a crazy theory of my dad's, I had no idea he made it a reality. but I realized that using the spare wire cable from the jeep, some insulation to lower the current, and the jeeps battery I could create an electromagnetic field that neutralized your upgrades and contained your power. I had no idea if I could trust you, your powers are terrifying and I'd never seen anything like you before" 

Asami cautiously disconnected the battery, causing the Subject's power to rush back, overwhelming her. Asami caught her in her arms helped her gently to the floor, placing a bundled up jacket under her head. She then unbound the Subject's limbs, casting the wire aside, curling up next to her as they both drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


End file.
